Paul Oscar Blocq

Paul Oscar Blocq (1860-1896) was a French pathologist who is remembered for his neuropathological work done with Jean-Martin Charcot and Gheorghe Marinescu at the Salpêtrière in Paris.

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Blocq and Marinescu were the first physicians to describe extracellular neuritic plaque deposits in the grey matter of the brain. Also the two identified a case of Parkinsonian tremor caused by a tumor in the substantia nigra of the brain. With Marinescu and bacteriologist Victor Babeş, Blocq published an important work on the pathological histology of the nervous system titled Atlas der pathologischen Histologie des Nervensystems.

A disorder known as Blocq's disease is named after him. It is also known as astasia-abasia, and is characterized by the inability to stand or walk, despite the capability to move ones' lower limbs when sitting or lying down.

Written Works

• Atlas der pathologischen Histologie des Nervensystems (with V. Babeş & G. Marinescu)
• Anatomie pathologique de la moelle epiniere (1891) [with Albert Londe (1858-1917)]
• Séméiologie et Diagnostic des Maladies Nerveuses. 1892 (with J. Onanoff)
• L'Etat Mental dans l'Hysterie.Paris: 1893